Chavez threatens oil cuts to U.S.

CARACAS, Venezuela (CNN) -- President Hugo Chavez on Friday wrapped up his campaign to push through broad constitutional changes with a broadside attack against adversaries at home and abroad -- including a threat to cut off oil exports to the United States. Chavez told a crowd gathered in the center of Caracas that if the referendum was approved and the result was questioned -- "if the 'yes' vote wins on Sunday and the Venezuelan oligarchy, playing the [U.S.] empire's game, comes with their little stories of fraud" -- then he would order oil shipments to the United States halted Monday.

Chavez spoke after tens of thousands, brought on buses from throughout the country, marched down the capital's principal boulevard to rally support for Sunday's referendum, which would free Chavez from term-limit restrictions and move the country toward institutionalized socialism.
......

IMO, its ends up at a repeat of the 70's, where instead of gas rationing and lines, we just have crazy high prices until demand drops.

Lets face facts. China is going to get all the oil it wants. It has all the dollars in the world to bid up the price with, and might just as well use them, as compared to waiting till they are worth less a year from now.

We need the oil because we are ridiculously dependent on oil to keep our economy going, and since we don't produce anywhere near enough ourselves as compared to what we consume, we need to import it, and since we don't produce enough of anything to sell to get the money to buy it with, we need to keep borrowing more and more to support the nasty habit.

It isn't important whether VZ ships oil here or not, really, IMO. Oil is a global commodity, pretty much, and tankers will take it wherever buyers are willing to pay them to.

The question is will global oil output rise enough to hold the price down in the face of our gluttonous consumption, which is still increasing, as well as increasing demand from places like China, where the number of cars on the road is increasing at a rate of 36% per year?

As long as dollars buy oil, China can outbid us for whatever oil it wants till the price is so high that the US goes into recession or hyperinflation..